Tales of Mystrica
by Suminda
Summary: Mystrica is a virtual world, filled with wondrous places--and magical creatures with special powers, which people called Keepers keep as pets. But then a few Keepers are chosen to protect the goddesses, and embark on a surprisingly dangerous adventure...
1. Prologue: A Memory of Shadows

**Prologue**

_"You've been cursed, my child. The Murakage blood coursing throughout you flows in dark rivers of misfortune. Try you may to infuse these rivers with the golden rays of the sun, yet no light by any means shall dispel the shadows." _

There I was… My world was the same shade of deep blue as the cloudy sky just outside my window, silent and still as the dry, chilly air around me. Not even the bed little me was curled up in seemed to provide sufficient comfort. Those words of Celia, my great-grandmother, drowned all the comfort out.

Murakage… my surname, a name that implied the "family of shadows". I didn't know much about my family, but I did know one thing: Celia put that curse on me. Some people don't believe in curses, but I know mine is real. Why else did my father become poor all of a sudden? Why else did I live in poverty for nearly three years? Why else did the police take me away from my father one day? It was only three days ago when the last event happened, but I miss him already. Why'd I have to be separated from the one man who cared for me in the world in order to be placed in some orphanage? It stung my eyes to think about it…

All of a sudden, there was a knock on my door.

"Yamiko, breakfast is ready."

I recognized the voice as belonging to Ms. Takamari, the head of the orphanage, and who most of the other kids called "mother". But not me—I knew I didn't have a mother, and I knew that my mother was cursed to death.

Like a puppet, I rolled over on my bed, flopped over the edge, and trudged along out the door.

The dining room had the air of the cafeteria of a campsite, except we were obviously not out in the wilderness—more like the outskirts of the city. There were about sixteen children in the warm, spacious room, three or four to a table. Nearly all of them seemed to be conversing, and were grouped together mostly according to age. One table of three to five-year-olds, one of older boys, one of older girls, one of girls and boys, a few empty tables…

"Well, where you gonna sit?" Ms. Takamari asked me, leading me around the room and holding a tray of food.

As I walked, I gazed nervously at the other kids, remembering how several of them had been either indifferent or unfriendly to me the other day. And how could they be so happy when I was so sad?

"How about here, right next to Edwin?" Ms. Takamari suggested as she set my tray down on the table.

It was apparent that this was the "loner table", as it was in the corner of the room, far away from the other kids. Except I wasn't alone—the boy Ms. Takamari called Edwin was sitting at the same table. He looked to be quite a bit older than me, but he didn't jeer or leer at me like the other older boys. Then again, maybe the other boys made fun of him because he had long hair. But at least his was straw-coloured; mine looked like it was bleeding all the time, and because it was straight, it looked sometimes like it was dripping with blood. And at least he wore more normal clothing—if a red turtleneck sweater and dark green cargo pants are normal—while I must have looked unnecessarily girly in the light pink dress with a green sweater over it and a large sunflower on the front. (Why in the world did Ms. Takamari pick that out for me?)

I tried to avoid Edwin, just like I did with the other children, but of course there were moments when I peeked, and my deep blue eyes met his deep brown ones. Neither of us ate much more than a bite of our pancakes, however delicious they admittedly were. I didn't feel like eating much anyway—I was busy thinking about how I would cope in this place. I would be awfully lonely, that's for sure.

Feeling a bit bored, I began to glance about the room. First I stared for a while at a little screen above a doorway, which showed the weather and such. ("Weather Conditions for Lavinda, Nazumi. 44 degrees outside, overcast, might clear up later in the day.") Then I glanced at Ms. Takamari, who was cleaning dishes in the kitchen. Then I scanned over the other kids, coming to Edwin last. When I looked at him, I saw he was doing the same thing as me—in fact, he seemed almost as morose as I felt. After a while, he looked at me again, but I got so nervous I began to look away.

"Hm, I saw you in the park, didn't I?" Edwin mentioned. He sounded like he was not from Nazumi.

"Well, I remember seeing Ms. Takamari there, but…"

Edwin was referring to a day some weeks ago where I was sitting in the park with my dad, and I watched Ms. Takamari lead the children in some sort of game. I remember envying them, being jealous of their privileged, happy lives—with a motherly figure nonetheless. Then I saw an apple fall in my lap all of a sudden—but there was no apple tree overhead. Minutes later I saw…

"You were the boy running out from behind the bench!" I recalled.

Edwin nodded. "I'm surprised you thought I was a boy. Many people have thought I was a girl at first glance."

"Everyone thinks I'm too much of a girl… a frail, weak little crybaby…"

"That's not a girl, that's a…" Edwin paused. "Well I don't know. Hm, I'm surprised. You're the first person here who hasn't commented on my accent yet."

"…But an accent is just a different way of speaking," I pointed out. "Why should it make a difference?"

"Usually it indicates a foreigner, something to make fun of."

"Oh." So this was why he was at this table. Still, it couldn't have been as good—I mean bad—a reason as mine. "So…_ are_ you a foreigner?"

"If you consider England a foreign country."

"Why—that's halfway across the globe! How… interesting, and I'm from plain old around here. I don't think Ivory Marsh is a foreign country."

"No, that's just a nearby city," Edwin clarified.

"How'd you get here?" I asked.

"By boat." Edwin paused, as if thinking whether he should expand on it. "Hitched a ride on a ship."

"Oh. Well, at least that's not as bad as being torn away from your family by the police. Even though mine was just a father."

Edwin shook his head. "The police," he grumbled. "Just a father. Ruddy folk they be."

For the next few moments, I sat still as Edwin slowly ate his breakfast. I noticed that Ms. Takamari was nowhere to be seen, and that some of the other kids were walking away. Seconds later, Ms. Takamari appeared in the doorway.

"I know it's hard to adjust," Edwin commented, "but they kind of expect you to eat here."

I remembered that I had breakfast in front of me and thus started to eat. A few minutes passed.

"How old are you by the way?" I asked Edwin as Ms. Takamari took the trays from us.

"Twelve," he replied. "I'm the oldest one here."

"Yeah, well, I look five but I'm eight actually. And my name's Yamiko."

Edwin and I looked at each other for a while after that, thinking of nothing else to say. But this came to a halt when Ms. Takamari made an announcement.

"All right kids! The school bus is here! Grab your backpacks and move on out!"

* * *

It was raining the whole time I was on the bus. As I initially expected when I first arrived here, I had the whole seat to myself, and I had been pushed to the back of the bus by groups of snooty older kids or naughty kindergarteners. A boy a few seats in front of me was talking animatedly to Edwin, as if he were explaining why he shouldn't be around me. That figured… So I was left to watch the rain fall and people's umbrellas turning inside-out due to the wind. Oh well, I seemed to identify more with the natural world anyway.

* * *

Later in the morning, when I was in class, the weather looked a bit clearer—the sun even came out for a few seconds once. I was seated at the front of the classroom, watching the teacher look for something behind her desk. When she retrieved a marker, I asked her for a hall pass—this particular one looked like a mermaid with dog ears. As I did, I could swear I heard some of my classmates snicker at me, so I left the room without looking at any of them.

As I walked down the hallway, I looked through the windows of other classrooms. One contained a bunch of students with topographical maps in front of them. Another looked empty, but then I spotted all the children huddled in the corner for story time. Boring, boring, boring… But then, in one classroom which I knew contained the sixth-graders, I saw a funny-looking man in a jester cap talking to the class.

_But this isn't April Fools,_ I thought, _so why is that… wait a minute, isn't that Jack the Jester?_

Jack the Jester was a clown/storyteller who appeared on some TV shows. (I remember watching excerpts of that show with my dad on TV's in store windows. We never had a TV of our own.) And I think I heard someone mention that he lives in Nazumi and occasionally makes presentations in schools and such. I had no idea what those presentations were about though… so I peeked in the window and decided to check. As I did, I noticed Edwin sitting in one of the desks…

"…towns that appear to come from all around the world, towns that appear to come from storybooks even…" Jack described, pausing so the students could ooh and ahh. "You can explore them all, and if you're a Keeper, you can stay in specific lodges in these towns for free!"

"Now what is a Keeper, you ask? Well, those magical creatures I mentioned before can be kept as pets by a Keeper. And because they live in Mystrica, they are called Mystripets! Now, as you know, some Mystripets can be big or may be unable to travel on land. Therefore, if the Keeper so desires, they can be contained in one of these…"

At this point, Jack rolled out a scroll, upon which was a picture of some sort of cell phone-like electronic device.

"This fun little gadget is called a Scanner. A Scanner can hold up to five Mystripets. But don't worry—thanks to Vi Willow, the genius who invented the Scanners, the Mystripets are not confined to a tiny little cage; instead, they have their own virtual world to frolic about in."

_What in the world is a Mystripet?_ I thought as I listened to this presentation. _Is it some sort of magical creature or something? Where is this land of Mystrica? Hmm, the name rings a bell…_

Just as I was about to reach into my pocket, something Jack said got my attention:

"Fortunately, Mystrica is not very far from here. In fact, it's not very far from anywhere! It's just one train ride away from this island of Nazumi—and from many other places in the world as well. And not only is it easy to get to Mystrica—it's easy to become a Keeper! All you have to do is attend the Mystripet Academy, located in Seaport City, Mystrica. Of course, you need permission from a parent or guardian to attend, but once you graduate, you get your very first Mystripet! And, if your grades are good, you could get two or three right off the bat! There are a wide variety of Mystripets to choose from, and while in the Academy, you'll learn all about them and how to take care of them! Now, let me tell you about a few…"

At this point, Jack went over to the projector and put a slide on it. When he turned the projector on, the whiteboard showed an image of a cute chipmunk-like creature.

"This is a Chiplet," Jack explained. "He's highly recommended for fun-loving Keepers, especially young ones like you. He's nuts about exploring too!"

Then he replaced that slide with another; this Mystripet looked like a shaggy little sheepdog puppy, only its eyes looked like they came off a cartooney stuffed animal. I saw Edwin raise his eyebrows at this one, whereupon several boys around him snickered and pointed at him.

"This is a Shagtie, for all you dog lovers out there. You'll find this one to be very loyal, but it usually requires a lot of attention. But don't worry; as Mystripets are more intelligent than ordinary animals and can even talk, you won't run into too many barking problems, and you can get one to do lots of fabulous tricks!"

The third slide Jack showed took me by surprise: it was the same mermaid-like creature on my hall pass! Yes, dog ears and everything, with a fan-like tip on its tail.

"This is a Finnow. It mainly lives in the water, of course, but it can travel on land as well by walking on its hands! How many of you can walk on your hands like a Finnow, I wonder? But Finnows have nice strong arms to help with that of course, so they can throw good punches as well!"

_So that's what this is,_ I thought as I looked between the slide and the hall pass, _a Finnow… a Mystripet…_

As Jack continued on, I walked down the hall towards the restrooms. As I did, I took out a picture from my pocket: a page from a magazine. This page described one particular Keeper, who had one Mystripet. This Mystripet was a purple cat with a diamond-shaped gem on its collar and a tail that looked like a leaf. Its name was listed as "Geraldine Munato", whatever that meant. Munato sounded like a funny last name to me. The article went on to describe the relationship the Keeper had with Geraldine, some boring stuff about traveling to a place called Alpenhaus and encountering things called "mecha" and running into some sort of gang… But of course, I was only curious about the Mystripet—all Mystripets even. I kept thinking about them as the day went on, even after I got back to the orphanage from school and well into dinnertime. What were they all about? How could I get one?

Then I remembered what Jack said about parental permission to attend the Mystripet Academy. This saddened me, because I didn't know where my father was anymore, after the police took me away from him. And when I asked Ms. Takamari after school if she would give me permission instead, she said that I must wait until I turn thirteen first. But that's five years away! That meant that lucky Edwin could attend in as little as one year. Psh, and I thought he was my friend, yet I didn't see him at all that afternoon. It looks like I'll wait here all alone for five years… five years of bad luck and unhappiness…


	2. Ch1: In the Shade of the Willow

**Chapter 1**

"**_In the Shade of the Willow"_**

Once upon a time there was a car. One might think of it as an ordinary blue sedan driving down the highway on a sunny day, but this was a car on the road to victory. The interior contained a few bright blue balloons, some of which said "Congratulations!" or various pictures of Mystripets on them. A ten-year-old girl sat in the back seat among the balloons, feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness. She stared out the window as if trying to keep her mind off of what was in store for her, and the only time she moved was when a balloon stuck to her strawberry-blond hair. Occasionally she played with the butterfly design on her shirt, though, whenever she felt her hands start to tremble.

The girl's mother was driving that day, dressed like she was attending a fancy dinner party. Her more casual-looking father turned to her.

"Well, Phoebe, we're almost there! Looks like your dreams are about to come true!"

"Yes, soon I'll be going on an adventure!" the girl replied, bouncing in her seat. "I can't wait to get a Mystripet!"

"Actually, you're getting _two_ Mystripets," Dad corrected. "We figured you'd need the extra protection." Then he winked at her.

Phoebe smiled, though quite sheepishly. True, two pets instead of one would be awesome, but for the purposes of protection?

_Crystal keeps telling me about dangers in Mystrica, but I thought she was lying, being the evil big sister she is. If Daddy's agreeing with her… bah, like he said, with two Mystripets, I should be just fine!_

"What did the school say about me having two?" Phoebe asked.

"Actually, they were fine with it. Each new Keeper is allowed up to three Mystripets. But I think three is a lot to handle for a beginner. Crystal could barely keep up with one. But don't worry—you're not breaking the rules or anything. Rule-breaking is bad in _any_ game, as it _always_ leads you into trouble."

"You got that right!" Phoebe said with a nod. "The cheaters get detention and stuff. But not me!"

"Nope, you've been a good girl all right," Mum agreed. "Well anyway, here we are."

After parking the car, Phoebe and her parents came across a convention centre. The hallway leading to the entrance was lined with more balloons and people dressed up in Mystripet costumes. One was even dressed like what looked like a six-armed Finnow and trying to do a handstand. Another wore an eyeball-shaped mask and held what looked like a hula-hoop covered in duct tape and decorated with colourful triangles.

"What Mystripet is _he_ supposed to be?" Phoebe asked her father.

"I dunno much about Mystripets," he replied, "but I think that's a… Mecheye? Something like that? Don't remember the exact name."

"Well, I don't want that one," Phoebe commented. "It looks weird."

"I know what you mean. A walking eyeball's pretty freaky. But don't they give you a personality test to determine your most compatible Mystripets?"

"Look," Mum interrupted, "there's your group."

She indicated a group of more future Keepers—though it consisted mostly of teenagers, people Crystal's age. Then she turned to Phoebe and patted her on the head.

"I guess it's time for us to leave you, then. But remember, be sure to call us once a week so we can be sure you're all right. I hope you can set a better example than your sister; she _never_ calls."

Phoebe smiled when Mum said that—anything to defile Crystal.

"Well anyway, I hope you enjoy your Mystripets and your adventures with them. Try to make some friends along the way as well! And when you call us, be sure to tell us all about your Mystripets! You can even send us pictures from that camera your father got you!"

"All right, I'll be sure to!"

With that, Phoebe walked away from her parents, and put on the little sky-blue backpack she was carrying. The backpack had a rainbow patch on the front, and contained various items like a wallet, a map, and the aforementioned camera. Before long, Phoebe reached the group, and began to look around at the others. Nearly everyone looked almost twice her age, save possibly a boy wearing pajama bottoms and carrying a laptop case, who looked to be a bit closer to her age. Being a bit intimidated by all the teens and tweens, she walked over to this boy. He looked a little older than her (and even had a tiny bit of a moustache), but not by much.

"Hello," Phoebe greeted. "Are you excited about getting a Mystripet too?"

"Oh! Erm… yeah, yeah, of course!" Apparently this boy was surprised that someone actually bothered to talk to him. He was rubbing the back of his longish black-haired head the whole time.

"That's a nice shirt," Phoebe complimented, commenting on a soft-looking black T-shirt with a big purple dragon and a little orange dragon on it. The orange dragon was especially cute, and looked almost like a person in a dragon suit.

"Are those Mystripets on it?"

"Yes," the boy replied. "This cute orange one's a Ryumi, and the bigger one's a Myodra. They're in the same family. And who knows—I just might get a Ryumi. I opted for two Mystripets, so the chances could be good."

"Me too! I'm also getting two Mystripets. It's a good starting number, isn't it? Haha, oh, and I'm Phoebe by the way. What's your name?"

"Phoebe, huh?" the boy repeated. "Well, I'm Gon…"

Phoebe frowned. "Huh? You're going away already?"

The boy paused and glanced around. Then he smiled and shook his head. "No, no, I meant my _name_ is Gon. That's what my schoolmates use to call me and, well, it caught on I guess."

* * *

By that time, all the Keepers-to-be were led into a tunnel. This tunnel was made of glass, through which the ocean was visible all around. It felt a lot like being in an aquarium. On the floor of the tunnel was a set of railroad tracks, and at the beginning of the tracks was a train, which looked like it had been snatched from a roller coaster. Phoebe and Gon rushed to the front of this train and sat next to each other in the first car. Then there was announcement from a speaker on the wall.

"There is no need to fasten any seat belts, as the train won't be making any turns, but please use common sense and not jump out of the train."

Some people giggled at this.

"Now that that's over with, enjoy your stay in Mystrica!"

"So are you from Nazumi as well?" Phoebe asked Gon as the train started to move.

"Yup, Kagitsune to be exact. Yes, it does get very windy there, as you probably heard."

"Ah, I live in Umigame, with my parents and older sister. Or at least it used to be my older sister; she already left as a Keeper. But what do I care—I don't like her that much."

"Oh, I see," Gon replied. "And I live with my parents and _younger_ sister. Or at least it used to be my younger sister; she… disappeared a few weeks ago."

"Disappeared? Was she kidnapped or something?"

"It's a possibility, but I'm not entirely sure. It's very strange how she disappeared. All of a sudden I opened the door to her room and came upon a blank wall."

"A blank wall?" Phoebe inquired. "How is that possible? Did she block the entrance or something?"

"No, no, Ari wouldn't do that. And besides, that doesn't explain the brick wall Dad found when he broke down the wall."

"Then where could she possibly be? Even if she snuck away for a Mystripet adventure, she wouldn't leave behind a brick wall blocking her room…"

"I know, it's very strange," Gon explained. "But I made a promise to myself that I _will_ find her. She really means a lot to me."

"Hm. Wow, is that a laptop you have in that bag?"

"Oh, yes, yes it is. And the Mystripet on it…"

Gon pointed to a picture of what looked like a bug with fiery wings on the case.

"…is a Ferifly. It's one of my favourite Mystripets, along with Myodra."

"You really know a lot about Mystripets, don't you?"

"I can name every one! But hey, I've been looking at their info for quite some time now, and I played the video-game demo of Mystripet Adventure."

"I've heard about that demo… but I've never played it. I'm not a video game person."

"Well I definitely am, and this could very well be a life-like video game. Ari and I were always talking about Mystripets, and about going on an real adventure together someday…"

Then he sighed.

"But now that she's gone, I don't know… it would be awkward journeying by myself. Adventures are always more fun in small groups."

"I have to agree on that," Phoebe commented. "Whenever my class went on a field trip, I would always look for a group to travel with, even if I didn't know anybody in the class."

"You must have a lot of friends," Gon guessed.

"I guess I would consider myself sort of popular at my school. Hmm, I wonder how many of my classmates are now Keepers…"

"Heh, I heard some people go on Mystripet adventures because they don't want to go to school," Gon mentioned. "Makes me wonder if they make good Keepers."

Phoebe and Gon sat there in silence, unable to think of much else to talk about at the moment. Gon kept eyeing an octopus swimming on the other side of the wall.

_And there's a Mystripet that resembles an octopus… Polypus, to be exact,_ Gon thought. _It's not one of my favourites, but still, being blue and having seaweed on its arms is kind of cool._

At one point in the ride, the train seemed to be speeding up, and beyond the walls was what looked like fog. Some people could see tiny gray rectangles in the cloudy mass, some even scribbles… But this didn't last long. Before long, the surroundings were ocean again. Moments later though, what initially looked like a giant squid swam alongside the train. It was about the length of a person, and had what looked like long musical horns on its head. Its eyes were bright red, flashy, and cool-looking. The squid did a salute-like gesture with one of its arms and winked, as if to say, "What's up, dudes?" to the group.

"See that?" Gon pointed out, indicating the squid. "That's a Mystripet. A Tentenari, to be exact. I don't think those are available for beginning Keepers, though."

"How many different Mystripets are there?" Phoebe asked Gon.

"Just over two hundred. Many of them roam around Mystrica without Keepers as well."

"Two hundred!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Wow, you know so much for a guy wearing pajamas!"

"Meh, I go more for comfort. And red's my favourite colour anyway, and plaid pattern, erm, looks nice I suppose. Hehheh…"

"But wow, the places we'll see, the people we'll meet, the Mystripets we'll encounter… this is the best summer vacation I can ask for."

"And the best part is, it's not too hard to go back to Nazumi once school starts. Even so, it's July now, so we have at least a month until then."

"Dad told me about a school in Mystrica… so maybe we don't even have to go back!"

"You mean we can stay here forever?" Gon exclaimed. "That… would be awesome."

* * *

At last, the train came to a stop and everyone got out. When they exited the station, Phoebe and Gon emerged into a city by the beach, as picturesque as a postcard. Since it was summer, many people (and Mystripets as well) were on the beach, swimming around in the water, lying in the sand, and just having a good time. Phoebe gazed at some of the Mystripets, most of which resembled animals of a sort. It was awkward to see a giant blue stork with a treble-clef tail (obviously a Mystripet) standing among a flock of ordinary seagulls, but it was interesting to see all these Mystripets nevertheless.

"I would say let's go to the beach," Gon mentioned, "but we have to be going to Vi Willow's laboratory."

"Isn't she the one who's supposed to give us our Scanners?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes, and we're supposed to meet there shortly. Now, we have to go down this street, make a right, then a left at the next street, down Apple Alley…"

As Gon dictated the directions to the lab, Phoebe looked around to see if she could spot any more Mystripets. Sure enough, there was what looked like a giant daisy with flycatcher arms, entertaining a bunch of children by juggling jellyfish. There was a creature with a sun-shaped head, a body consisting of just a few bright orange orbs, and sunglasses over its eyes; bouncing alongside a girl holding an ice cream cone. And there was a little green dinosaur with five large leaves on its body. Gon pointed out and named each Mystripet along the way, identifying these three as Nectrap, Orbicle, and Alola, respectively, and mentioning that Alola was available for beginning Keepers. Of course, neither Phoebe nor Gon had interest in that chubby little dinosaur, but it was kind of cute anyway.

Finally, Phoebe and Gon joined the crowd of teenagers and young adults. They were standing outside a rather plain-looking building on a plain-looking and empty street. Still, the lab stood out a little from the other buildings; there was a poster on the door which depicted a white dragon with a unicorn's horn and a swirly rainbow-coloured tail (probably another Mystripet?), and a sign next to the door which read, "Laboratory of Vi Willow, Mystripet wizard and manager of microworlds". The two arrived just in time, for at that moment the door opened, and a woman emerged. In the shade of a white fedora, two dark eyes gazed intently at the newcomers, the little rectangular spectacles in front of them gleaming. Wisps of raven hair further shadowed them, though they were mostly gathered in a long, loose ponytail in the back. What looked like a white trench coat added to her mystique, so that for a moment she reminded Phoebe and Gon of a detective from an old movie. With black-booted feet she walked towards the two, into the sunlight—though her face was still in shadow.

"Well, as some of you may know, I am Vi Willow. It always pleases me to see new Keepers enter the world of Mystrica, especially when they come from a wide variety of places and a wide variety of age groups. I've been giving Mystripets to people as old as seventy, even. But I find that most Keepers are in the teenage or pre-teen age group, like all of you. Now, I know you all completed the courses in the Mystripet Academy, and have seen a few Mystripets yourselves, but with every adventure there must always be an element of surprise. There are so many things about Mystrica and Mystripets I could talk to you about, but it's always enthralling to learn about all of those things on your own. Learning by experience is better for the mind, after all, because what you learn stays with you longer—it becomes a part of you."

"Besides, I doubt you want to hear me lecture all day. You're all anxious to get your Mystripets, aren't you? Yes, yes, I know you are. I know that sense of eagerness, that yearning for adventure, that urge to try something new. Call it a spiritual pilgrimage. Call it a quest to find hidden treasure. Call it a journey to train to become one with your Mystripets. Call it what you will, for you are about to embark on it."

There was a pause, and the crowd fell silent for a while.

"Now, if you would all make a single-file line in front of me…"

Before Vi Willow could even finish her sentence, people moved into position in the line, eager to get their Mystripet first. Phoebe started for a position in the line…

"Hey, babies last," a punky-looking boy teased, pointing to the back of the line.

"Watch who you're calling baby, you freak-o," Phoebe sassed, moving to the back of the line. "I wonder what YOUR Mystripet will be. Maybe you'll get a Mecheye."

"It's Mechaneye," the boy annunciated. "Get it right, girlie." He and another boy snickered.

"Boys are idiots," Phoebe muttered as she stood there waiting. "Except you of course," she added to Gon. "At least you're not trying to make fun of me or hit on me like most boys do."

"Hit on you?" Gon scoffed. "What do I look like, a pedophile? Nah, I have my laptop and my crazy mind to keep me company. Maybe not that crazy."

Phoebe giggled. Then she realized it was almost her turn… She saw people walking away with Scanners, those little electronic devices Gon couldn't wait to try out. Some even had Mystripets next to them already… the boy from before got a black, devil-like creature with red eyes, red horns, and a skull around its neck.

"Hmm, there you are," Vi Willow greeted. "You must be Phoebe Heatherfield and Hiroshi Tsukimaru. You're finally here, huh?"

Phoebe and Gon glanced at each other. Had she been expecting them or something?

"I have your Scanners right here," she continued. "Here you are!"

These two Scanners looked quite different from the others. Most of the others had a solid colour on the outside. But Phoebe's was rainbow-coloured, and the sight of it excited her.

_It's pretty…_

Gon's was a blend of fiery colours.

_Hm, does this mean I'm getting Fire-element Mystripets?_

**-Mystripet 101-**

**Each Mystripet is classified into a certain element, like Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, and Light. It also has a class—like Plant, Bug, Ghost, or anything else that describes what kind of creature it is. Some Mystripets have two elements, but all have only one class. You can think of a Mystripet adventure as a magical journey or a fantasy-style RPG, then! The Mystripets do have certain powers, you know.**

Before doing anything else, Gon went to check out his Scanner. Phoebe, not knowing anything about Scanners, decided to look over his shoulder. What she saw was rather amazing—within seconds, Gon was accessing things like maps, information on his Mystripets, and a "contacts" feature, which reminded Phoebe of a mobile phone. Come to think of it, she did remember her father mentioning a "built-in cell phone" when talking about Scanners… The Scanner folded out to reveal two screens: one large one in the centre, and one smaller one in a folded-out portion to the left. On top were five buttons, two of which were lit. Each lit button had an icon which looked like it could be a Mystripet head.

"I think it's these buttons that release your Mystripets," Gon explained. "Go ahead—why don't you try it?"

"Oh! Really? Okay…"

Phoebe took out her own Scanner and found the same two buttons—except the icons on them were different. One icon looked like the head of a purple horse; the other looked like the head of a clown of some sort, judging by the big red nose. She decided to press the horse one first.

_Here goes… I wonder which Mystripet this is!_

A beam shot out of the Scanner, from which a Mystripet materialized. This one looked like a purple hobbyhorse, with a fluffy lavender mane and big blue eyes that blinked twice at Phoebe.

"Hello, Phoebe," she greeted in a sweet little voice.

Phoebe grinned. "Wow, I used to really want a pony when I was younger… this is almost a dream come true!"

"And what would you like to call me by?"

"Huh?" Phoebe asked, confused. "You mean I'm supposed to name you or something?"

"That's usually how things go. I was technically just born, so I haven't had much time to think of a name." She bounced on the wooden stick that was her "leg" as she spoke.

"Don't you already have a name—like Tentenari, Nectrap, or Alola?"

"That's a species name. I'm a Peggony. But a pet name is more personal."

"Peggony?" Phoebe repeated. "How about I call you Peggy for short?"

"Peggy works!" the Peggony agreed. "Whoo-hoo, I have a name!" This time she spun around when she jumped.

"And you're not my only Mystripet, Peggy," Phoebe added. Let's see who the other is!"

With that, she pressed the clown button on her Scanner.

Out came a doll-like Mystripet. She had bright auburn hair in leaf-shaped pigtails tied with purple ribbons, and her eyes were bigger and bluer than Peggy's, and had little yellow triangles on the sides. She had a big red nose and a big wide smile on her face, and had fluffy white buttons on her little crimson dress. Pink mittens showed under her fluffy-ended long sleeves, black stripes ringed around her legs, and instead of the traditional clown shoes, she had black Mary Janes on her feet, the toes of which looked to be too big. She even had a cute little flower pinned to her dress, and she herself was just under two feet tall. Upon coming out of Phoebe's scanner, she took a bow.

"Pleased to meet you in any way, always here to brighten your day," she greeted in a peppy, squeaky voice. "Now won't you give me a name so we can play the game?"

"Um…" Phoebe muttered, trying to think. "Nice rhyming, by the way. You like to fool around, don't you? Ah, Fooly! That's it! How about Fooly?"

"Fooly coolly! I like Fooly." She did a backward flip onto her hands while she said this. "And why so loony? I am a Cloonie!"

"Ehheheh, wow, I guess I mentioned being fun-loving too many times on that quiz…" Phoebe said to herself.

"Niiiice," Gon commented. "You got a Cloonie. That's a very interesting Mystripet indeed, as you'll see. I heard they're always happy—if that's even possible."

"Really?" Phoebe wondered. "I wish I could be always happy… Anyway, which pets did you get?"

"Well, let me show you!"

Gon pressed a button on his Scanner, and out came a small Mystripet. This one was a caterpillar, with a round, red mouth, and a body that was pink on top and light green on the bottom. His body was in six segments, each with a little red rose on each side. He had six little round feet, and a tail that looked like a bright yellow-green oval in what looked like a cornhusk made of red cellophane. He also had a red Y-shaped antenna, and beady brown eyes.

"Ah, you have a light on your tail, being an Agnite," Gon commented to the foot-long bug. "I'm naming you Hikaru."

The Agnite merely blinked and cocked his head to the side.

Shrugging, Gon pressed the other glowing button on his Scanner. This Mystripet was about the size of an ostrich egg—in fact, he _was_ an egg! Except he had a face complete with round pink eyes. He also had little teal hands sticking out from the shell, round purple feet, little bee wings, and little black antennae.

"Oh my gosh, it's a Pattybee!" Gon exclaimed. "I happened to get two bugs! Hmm, what to name you? Bugs are always hard… Buzz? Nah, too cliché… Bugzy, Honeybee, Jolly…"

"I like Bizz!" the Pattybee suggested, speaking in a voice as soft as a baby's. "It sounds better than Buzz, that's for sure."

"Bizz, not bad," Gon agreed. "Then Bizz it is! Hey Phoebe, if you press the second button to the left on the keypad, you can look at information on your Mystripets."

Gon was already looking at his pets' information. He scanned through the first info screen:

Name: Hikaru  
Keeper: Hiroshi Tsukimaru  
Species: Agnite  
Element: Fire  
Class: Bug (Caterpillar)

The screen on the side had information on Agnite. It read, "Agnite is a fire-breathing caterpillar! It may not be able to do much EXCEPT blow fire and spit out string and crawl on people's arms at this point, but just you wait until it gets older!"

Then Gon looked up his other Mystripet.

Name: Bizz  
Keeper: Hiroshi Tsukimaru  
Species: Pattybee  
Element: Normal  
Class: Bug (Egg)

Again, there was an information screen on the side. This one read, "It's a good thing Pattybee has that eggshell; its body is rather ugly on the inside. The good thing is that the eggshell is a good defense against the elements, and is even fireproof."

"Pattybees are fireproof?" Phoebe blurted, looking over Gon's shoulder. "That's interesting."

"At least their shells are. Now try looking up your Mystripets."

Phoebe took out her Scanner and located the button Gon pointed out—it looked like an eye. Sure enough, the main screen looked similar to the one on Gon's Scanner:

Name: Peggy  
Keeper: Phoebe Heatherfield  
Species: Peggony  
Element: Light  
Class: Toy (Pony)

Phoebe then proceeded to read all about the Peggony species. "A Peggony moves by bouncing along on its stick. It can see colours more vividly than humans can, and its activity tends to be affected by music and how bright the area it's in is."

"Do you think I could ride on you?" Phoebe asked Peggy.

"Ride?" Peggy murmured. "Unless you weigh less than fifty pounds, you'll break my stick…"

"Don't you dare call me fat…" Phoebe muttered under her breath.

_Because I'm not. Not quite._

Phoebe then looked at her other Mystripet's info:

Name: Fooly  
Keeper: Phoebe Heatherfield  
Species: Cloonie  
Element: Normal  
Class: Toy (Clown)

And the side screen read, "A Cloonie is incapable of feeling sorrow, and hardly ever lacks a smile on its face. It might not look like much, but looks can be deceiving! A Cloonie usually has a trick or two up its sleeve."

"Incapable of feeling sorrow?" Phoebe recited, sounding a bit amazed and a little jealous.

"It's like being constantly on a drug of some kind," Fooly explained. "I hope it doesn't annoy you, do you mind?"

"You really like to rhyme, don't you?"

"I love to rhyme! It's certainly not a crime."

"Whoa, at first I was expecting you to rhyme 'rhyme' with 'time'."

"Nah, that's too cliché. I prefer a different way."

Phoebe looked at Fooly with a bit of worry. It was not only worry for herself, about how she would be able to put up with the ecstatic rhyming clown in the future; but it was also worry for Fooly, not to mention the drug comparison she just mentioned was a bit disturbing. Phoebe couldn't imagine what life would be like if the only emotion one knew was happiness. At first glance it would seem wonderful, but wouldn't it get boring after a while...?

Fortunately, just then Vi Willow came and interrupted Phoebe's murky train of thought.

"Well well, I see you two are certainly enjoying your time with your new Mystripets. Just so you know, some Mystripets may seem hard to deal with, and they certainly have a varicoloured plethora of different personality types, but the pleasurable lesson is in learning how to deal with that. You will find that many things are meant to be learned on a Mystripet journey, things that are more valuable than what anyone can learn in a typical school lecture. I'm not saying you should give up on school though—it's fascinating once you open your mind to the power knowledge possesses. Now what I..."

Vi Willow paused when she noticed Phoebe raising her hand.

"Yes?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but what do 'varicoloured', 'plethora', and 'surmise' mean?"

Gon chuckled at this question. Vi Willow merely smirked.

"Looks like someone would benefit from having a dictionary."

Then Vi Willow cleared her throat, having seen that the other new Keepers had already left with their Mystripets.

"Anyway, please excuse my circuitous route to my point. But you're probably wondering why A) I was expecting you, and B) your Scanners have those patterns on them. Now normally I keep things to myself, but without certain crucial information, a journeyer is uncertain as to what kind of path to follow."

"She speaks in more riddles than Fooly does..." Phoebe whispered to Gon.

"Usually you can judge how smart someone is by how often they talk in that manner," Gon whispered back. "And also by how many big words they use."

"Whispers of excitement eh?" Vi Willow mused. "But as I was saying... The two of you, along with three other people, have been specially chosen by the faeries to protect the five elemental goddesses."

"There are faeries in Mystrica?" Phoebe blurted. "Real faeries? Wow..."

"Five elemental goddesses?" Gon wondered. "Does that make us priests or something?"

"Sort of," Vi Willow answered, "but the more proper identification is that you are Guardians. Or at least that's what this letter says."

With that, from her pocket Vi Willow withdrew a letter, which looked to be written on antique parchment.

"This letter is a prophecy given to me by the faeries one day," Vi Willow explained. "It reads..."

And with that she proceeded to recite the prophecy:

"_Deep below you lies a secret  
Solemn though it may well be  
The fates seem determined to keep it  
Hidden safe from you and me._

_A message from our divination  
Came to us to tell you this:  
There's a cure from this complication  
Which you can't afford to miss._

_The fates have given us some names  
And have called upon them so  
Now they come to play these games  
You shall show them where to go._

_So you shall help them start  
Before on a journey they're set  
Free the goddess in their hearts  
Give them each a pet."_

"Although the meaning of this is very clear to me," Vi Willow mentioned (Phoebe and Gon exchanged awkward looks), "not even I know who sent this letter. Perhaps it was destiny itself that sent it. Whatever it is, surely you're familiar with the five elemental goddesses?"

Silence.

"Hm, perhaps not. Apparently the Internet doesn't explain things too well in this case. But anyway, there are five goddesses who watch over Mystrica, each representing a different element. Representing fire is Isix, the draconic phoenix with transcendent passion and intensity in her heart. Representing water is Nerida, the calm and complacent whale who serves as a reminder that there is beauty in everything. Representing earth is Primaverde, the wise old rooted vegetable who is immobile, though ever patient and understanding. Representing wind is Auresia, the colourful and cheerful hummingbird who gives us hopes of happiness and enlightenment. And representing spirit is Saberus, the ominous, cunning, and determined sabercat who serves as a keeper of secrets and mysteries. Whenever the faeries perform rites and ceremonies, they invoke the presence of these deities. Now not even I can fathom why a goddess would need mortal protection, but through wisdom and a bit of common sense, one can fashion a pretty good guess."

"And what's your guess?" Phoebe and Gon chorused.

"There is no point in sharing it if it is quite likely to be wrong. But moving on, we know that there are five goddesses, so therefore there are five Guardians. Along with the prophecy, the faeries gave me five Elemental Keys, which, when inserted into a Scanner, transforms it into one of the uniquely patterned Scanners you two have. These keys decided to be very elusive; I was not informed as to who exactly the Guardians were. One can almost say that the key doesn't pick the Keeper until just the right moment, almost at random. What happens is that I program a Scanner to belong to a certain Keeper. The second I input your names, the Fire and Wind Keys glowed, and inserted themselves into your Scanners. It's as if they picked you. It certainly is a great honour to be considered a guardian of a goddess, but if I were you I would keep quiet about it."

"Protecting a goddess..." Bizz mentioned, having overheard the conversation. "Makes me feel like I'm a knight or something."

"Come on Bizz," Gon joked, "you're a Pattybee, not a Metablade. But I guess that's a good analogy."

"What's a Metablade?" Phoebe asked.

"Another Mystripet," Gon answered. "Looks like a knight." He wanted to be brief because he was anxious as to what else Vi Willow had to say.

"But I guess Vi Willow is right about keeping quiet about being a Guardian," Phoebe mentioned, stammering a little because she was still amazed that she had been chosen by a goddess. "If you brag about something, people get jealous, and when people get jealous they get mad, and may even try to steal your Scanner or something!"

"Yes, and that would be a problem," Vi Willow agreed.

"Erm, one question," Gon asked. "Rather, a concern. If a goddess wants someone to protect her, it can only mean that she senses danger. If there's no danger, why bother seeking protection?"

"Ah, very good question," Vi Willow replied. "I wondered the same, as did the two other Guardians who arrived before you did. There probably is danger afoot, but not even I know the identity of that danger. There are gangs and criminals in Mystrica, but none of them should be able to hold a candle to a goddess, none that can so much as burn one of Primaverde's leaves. There is suspicion about some things in this world, but it's all up in the air as of now. I would go investigate to confirm some of my theories, but I hardly ever have time to even leave this building. For now, it's best to go forth and enjoy your time in Mystrica, and with your Mystripets of course!"

"Then what are we going to do?" Peggy wondered.

"We can explore...!" Phoebe suggested, trying to smile, though she faltered quite a bit.

"That's not a bad idea," Gon reassured her. "Mystrica isn't lacking at all in wondrous landscapes and intriguing towns and... well, I personally can't wait to see it all. And that's not all there is to do, so I heard! You can, well..."

Gon paused for a moment, looking worried.

"Ari knows a lot more about Mystrica than I do," Gon admitted. "However, she disappeared before she could tell me very much. And of course, all the internet information I found was kind of vague. I..."

"That's quite all right," Vi Willow interrupted. "I apologise, but there is work left for me to do, and I only have so much time to talk. And this actually ties in to what you were just saying, Hiroshi."

Gon looked up, interested. Vi Willow adjusted her glasses, the sunlight from behind shining like a halo around her otherwise darkened face.

"I clearly remember giving Mariko her Scanner. The same goes to your sister too, Phoebe."

Phoebe gave her a disapproving look.

"Mariko is Ari's real name," Gon whispered to Phoebe.

"Well anyway," Vi Willow continued, a smirk playing across her face, "the instant I went to get Mariko's Scanner, the Spirit Key escaped from its drawer and sealed itself inside!"

Phoebe and Gon gaped at her.

"...Y-y-you mean Ari is the Spirit-Keeper?" Gon stammered.

"Precisely. Fortunately, I now know the identity of four of the Guardians. There's you two, then there's Mariko, and then the Water-Keeper, Yamiko Murakage."

"What about the Earth-Keeper?" Phoebe wondered.

"Ah, the Earth-Keeper..." Vi repeated, the look on her face becoming a little darker. "Just the other day, a faery came along and stole the Earth Key."

"What?!" Phoebe and Gon and Bizz chorused.

"Why would a faery do such a thing?" Peggy wondered.

"It's beyond me," Vi Willow apologised. "Yet, the faeries are of good intention. This can only mean that they have had a change of plans, and plan to do something special with the Earth Key. Faeries can be naughty at times, but they mean well."

After a long pause, during which Fooly amused herself by juggling rocks, Vi Willow borrowed Phoebe's Scanner. She pressed the map button next to the main screen, and a map of Mystrica appeared on the screen. She then pressed a button on the back of the Scanner, camouflaged into the design. Suddenly, five icons appeared on the screen, each being an elemental symbol. Near the dot on the map labeled "Seaport City" was a flame icon and a wing icon.

"That must be us," Phoebe guessed, looking over Vi Willow's shoulder (figuratively, as Vi Willow was about a foot taller than her).

"Hey look," Gon noticed, "there's a raindrop icon right near us." Sure enough, there was a raindrop icon just a tiny bit away from the other two icons on the map. "I wonder if this means that..."

"The Water-Keeper is nearby," Vi Willow finished for him. "This is possibly one of the handiest features you will ever use, and it is unique to a Guardian's Scanner. These keys reprogrammed the Scanners so that they became sensitive to the presence of the other four Keys. Therefore, this map feature tells you where the other Guardians are. You can use the buttons here to zoom in on locations as well..."

Vi Willow demonstrated by zooming in on Seaport City. The Fire and Wind icons were on the north side of the city, closer to the beach, next to the dot labeled "Vi Willow's Lab", whilst the Water icon was in a park in the southeast corner of the city.

Vi Willow gave the Scanner back to Phoebe, who zoomed out on the map, so that it again focused on the whole continent of Mystrica. She marveled at the names of the places on the map, like "Cloudy Park" in the northwest near a mountain on an island, and "Gem Tunnel" in the far southeast, running between the cities of Talmiroc and Diamond Town. She also gazed in awe at the large river tracing an almost perfectly vertical line through the centre of Mystrica, originating in a mountain range south of Seaport City. On the far east side of the map was a vast expanse of forest. That is, except for an icon that looked like a tree in a circle.

"What's this?" Phoebe asked Vi Willow, pointing to the mark.

"That's the Earth Key," Vi Willow explained. "The Faery Queen lives in a secret location in the Mystrican rainforest, also known as the Forest of Essence. Therefore, the Earth Key should be safe with the faeries. The only thing I am unsure of is what they plan to do with it next."

"Hey look," Gon called, "I just found Ari on the map!"

Gon had taken out his Scanner and navigated to the same map. Looking at her own map, Phoebe saw a purple eye-shaped icon in a city called Fairwyn. This city looked to be surrounded by mountains—the same Mezutaria Range that the aforementioned river (the river Swift) originated from. It was nestled in the southeast corner of those mountains.

"Fairwyn doesn't look too far away," Phoebe mentioned. "It's just over those mountains."

"_Those_ mountains?" Gon interjected, pointing to a space between two tallish buildings. On the southern edge of the city, there stood a steep and rigid mountain range, looming ominously over the otherwise sunny city.

"It would not be wise to cross over the Mezutaria," Vi Willow advised, "especially if you're new to Mystrica. The mountains can be steep and jagged, and like to contain storm clouds. Many have perished in a trek over those mountains. Because of that, the easiest path to Fairwyn is very circuitous, and passes through three other towns. Little public transportation reaches Fairwyn; there are only winding mountain roads and a subway that goes to Ammerite, the city at the southern foot of the mountains."

"I think I see it," Gon noted, tracing his finger along the map. "It makes a clockwise loop, heading first to Mayville in the East, then passing through Rimewood and a... field of some sort... before reaching Ammerite."

"Well," Vi Willow concluded, "I have things to do and matters to manage, so at this moment I will have to take my leave. But if you ever need help with anything, provided I am not busy, you can send me an email or an instant message wherever there's an Internet connection. Guardians of Fire and Wind, I wish you luck on your journey."

And with that she entered her lab and was gone.

"Now what do we do?" Bizz asked after a long pause. The poor Pattybee was a bit bored, not being too interested in legends and geography.

"Why don't we find Yamiko?" Phoebe suggested. "You know, the Water-Keeper? Maybe he or she knows a bit more about being a Guardian—or a Keeper."

"Yamiko's a girl's name, silly," Gon chuckled, "though a bit unusual. Anyway, I don't know how long she's been a Keeper, but it can't hurt to try."

So Phoebe and Gon left the boring Logic Way and turned back onto Apple Alley, heading for the lively main drag that led to the park on the other side of the city.


End file.
